


Weagles Wobble, But They Don't Fall Down

by eafay70



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2020-11-23 01:16:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20883776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eafay70/pseuds/eafay70
Summary: Five times Jojo caused a weagle to appear for Zhenya, and one time Zhenya caused a weagle to appear for Jojo.





	Weagles Wobble, But They Don't Fall Down

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sananboer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sananboer/gifts).

> I hope you enjoy this, cantevenskate! =D  
And I hope readers other than cantevenskate enjoy this, too! =D
> 
> Title inspired by the phrase "Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down," which is a slogan for egg-shaped toys called Weebles. (I know I've heard the phrase on TV, but I don't think I've ever seen a Weeble in real life.)

**1 (March 2014)**

Zhenya wasn't all that nervous.

Sure, it was his first time practicing with an NHL team. Sure, his English wasn't the best. Sure, he didn't know the other guys - his new teammates - terribly well just yet.

But he was NOT overly nervous. He just...needed a moment to himself before taking the ice, so he was sitting in an otherwise empty room, taking a few deep breaths.

He stared at the closed door...and gasped in surprise. There was now a small shadow twitching - or maybe dancing? - on the door, even though Zhenya himself wasn't moving and there didn't seem to be anything in the room capable of casting a shadow like that. It just didn't seem natural. Had someone on the team created it using magic?

With one last deep breath, Zhenya left the room. The shadow appeared again in the hallway, prompting him to frown.

"There you are!" A guy Zhenya didn't really recognize came up to him. "I sent that out to find you, just in case you got lost."

"Thanks." Zhenya held out his hand. "Evgeny Kuznetsov."

"Marcus Johansson." He shook the offered hand. "I can do a little magic, mostly Weagles - that's the W-shaped bird logo," he clarified quickly when Zhenya frowned.

"Weagle," Zhenya repeated carefully. "I'll see lots of those, I guess."

"Yep." Marcus pointed down the hallway. "To the ice?"

"To the ice."

* * *

**2 (mid-July 2017)**

Zhenya was poking around on his phone, nothing really on his mind, when he randomly lifted his head and noticed a rapidly blinking Weagle shadow on the wall. Something about it worried Zhenya - why wasn't it staying still or disappearing?

Before he could think further, his phone started to buzz with an incoming call. Zhenya looked at the screen and answered: "Jojo?"

"I'm going to New Jersey."

Zhenya felt his jaw drop. "You got traded?"

"Yeah." Mojo swallowed audibly. "I don't want to go."

"I don't want you to go," Zhenya replied. "I...I wanted to tell you the next time we saw each other, but..."

"Did you see a Weagle just before I called?" Jojo asked. "Because if you did, that'll tell you what I feel about you."

"I did," Zhenya confirmed. "And...same here."

"Okay," Jojo said reassuringly. "We'll be okay, I promise."

* * *

**3 (early June 2018)**

Zhenya collapsed on his bed. It hadn't really sunk in that they had, in fact, won the Stanley Cup, but all the celebrating was leaving Zhenya more worn out than he'd ever felt before.

A Weagle appeared on the wall opposite him. Zhenya sighed - it felt like he'd been seeing Weagles everywhere since the end of the final game, so of course his mind would produce one right when he wanted to go to sleep. He rubbed his eyes, but the Weagle didn't disappear - which was weird, considering he'd spoken with Mojo just the day before.

Yawning, he got out his phone and sent a text: _You okay? Weagle's been here awhile._

_Just can't stop thinking about how proud I am of you._ A series of red hearts followed the words.

_Glad nothing bad! But I'm going to sleep now, so..._

The Weagle disappeared just as another text came in. _I understand. Sleep well._

* * *

**4 (late Feb. 2019)**

Zhenya considered the Capitals his second family for several reasons: He loved them, he trusted them, and every so often they drove him up a wall.

Right now, his teammates were driving him nuts by not talking about Jojo's trade to the Bruins in front of him. It hadn't even been a week, but there had already been five different occassions where Zhenya had heard mention of Boston and walked into the room, only for everyone to very awkwardly shut up. Zhenya understood the reasoning, considering what had befallen Mojo at the hands of one of his new teammates, but it was completely unneccesary.

With a frustrated groan, he balled his hand into a fist and went to punch his pillow - only to freeze mid-motion at the sight of a Weagle shadow. He unclenched his hand and lowered it to his side, staring at the Weagle for a few moments before deciding to take action.

_Will you please tell the guys that you'll be fine in Boston?_ he texted Jojo.

_I just finished telling them!_ Jojo texted back. _And now I want to talk to you. Okay to call?_

_You bet._

Sure enough, the phone rang. "You know they mean well, Zhenya," Mojo said.

"I know," Zhenya conceded. "But I'm not fragile. It's...annoying that they think I am."

"Well, they won't do it anymore, they say." Mojo snorted softly. "Of course, feel free to annoy them right back if they break their promise."

"Absolutely."

* * *

**5 (mid-July 2019)**

Zhenya and Mojo had done a lot of talking and texting in the days leading up to Jojo signing with the Sabres. Given how much time and effort it took to get settled in a new place, it made sense that they had only exchanged a few texts in the days following the signing. However, Zhenya couldn't help but miss the earlier frequency of communication with his favorite Swede.

He opened his fridge and stared at the various leftovers inside, wondering what to have for lunch. Nothing jumped out at him - until a Weagle fluttered in front of one of the containers.

"Thai, you say?" Zhenya 'asked' the Weagle. It fluttered more intensely, which made Zhenya imagine Mojo nodding in confirmation. "Okay. Thai it is."

Once he was settled with his food on the couch, Zhenya sent Jojo a text: _Didn't think you liked Thai, but Weagle chose it for my lunch!_

The reply came pretty quickly: _I know it's the oldest thing in there, so I don't want it going bad on you! You shouldn't worry about what I would eat._

Zhenya couldn't think of a good reply, so he sent a few red hearts and dug in.

* * *

**+1 (Sept. 2019)**

Zhenya woke up to his phone buzzing in a familiar pattern of three. He sat up and smiled at the screen: Jojo had texted him!

He unlocked his phone to open the message: _Thanks for thinking of me!_

_Always,_ Zhenya texted back. He then blinked a few times in confusion: What had he done to tell Jojo that he was thinking of him?

Luckily, Mojo's next text clarified matters: _I couldn't sleep last night, so I walked around the room a little bit and got back in bed. When I did, there was a Weagle shadow from the window!_

_Cool!_

_...Did you not do it on purpose?_

Zhenya sighed. _You know my magic's not as good as yours._

The phone began to ring. Zhenya accepted the call, but couldn't get a word out before Jojo spoke: "There will be no negativity between us, Kuzy! Your magic is wonderful!"

"But your magic has always been so detailed," Zhenya pointed out. "Mine is so...random. It's a mess."

"But yours is heartfelt," Jojo argued. "It's still good magic, just different."

A lump began to form in Zhenya's throat. "If you say so. But I really do think of you always."

"Ditto." Jojo made a kissing noise. "Love you! See you soon!"

"Love you," Zhenya echoed before ending the call. He opened the calendar app and counted the days until he reached the event labeled with Jojo's picture: Five more days. He could hardly wait.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Feedback is always greatly appreciated.
> 
> And a special thanks to my beta for this fic, whose identity I will reveal post-author reveals.


End file.
